Today was the first Saturday that Brad was free from his thesis writing. With all of the changes, it is hard to believe that we can live a “normal” life again. It is hard to remember what that might look like.

For the past five months Brad has been working nonstop -- often 12 or 16 hours per day -- and I would hardly see him except at dinner. By September, he was practically living at the lab trying to finish writing his thesis. Since I was finished working at the end of August, I got used to being a “lab widow” and spending all day home alone during that time. We would meet for dinner – usually at a restaurant – and catch up on life before he went back to work for another 5 or 6 hours.

Despite his hard work and long hours, our departure date came too quickly and he had to finish writing here. Well, as of this past week he is finally finished! Now he can concentrate fully on his new research position here in Holland and we can go back to “normal” life.

Of course, now that I’m not working, our expectations for “normal” life have changed. Now Brad is the first out of the bed in the morning, and I sleep in a bit longer. Now I cook dinner and am more familiar with the prices in the grocery store. I even know my way around the city better than he does because I’m often running errands downtown.

So today we spent our first Saturday walking around the city – Brad was enjoying the freedom from the constant pressure and I was enjoying having my husband around during the day. We went for coffee, walked around the outdoor market, and did a little shopping. I think he had such a good time, it wore him out because he’s having a nap on the couch and it is only 6pm!